Why Read, Study and Memorize Scripture?

1. Why Read, Study and Memorize Scripture? John 15:6-8 Series: Truth, Judgment and Eternity

2. God Washed Her Brain In his book How to be Born Again, Billy Graham tells of a missionary who was imprisoned by the Japanese in China. At this concentration camp the penalty for owning even a portion of the Scriptures was death; however, a small Gospel of John was smuggled to her in a winter coat. At night when she went to bed she pulled the covers over her head and, with her flashlight in hand, read a verse and then put herself to sleep memorizing that verse. In this way, over a period of time, she memorized the entire Gospel of John. When she went to wash her hands she would take one page at a time, dissolve it with soap and water, and flush it down the drain. “And that is the way,” she said, “that John and I parted company.”

3. God Washed Her Brain This little missionary was interviewed by a Time reporter just before the prisoners were released and he happened to be standing at the gates when the prisoners came out. Most of them shuffled along, eyes on the ground, little more than automatons. Then out came the little missionary, bright as a button. One of the reporters was heard to ask, “I wonder if they managed to brainwash her?” The Time reporter overheard the remark and answered, “God washed her brain.” Psalm 18:32-33 “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.”

4. The Word of God John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is clearly identified here as the Word of God. Before anything else was, the Word of God was. This Word was God and in John 1:14, it tells us that, “The Word became flesh and dwelt for a while among us.” The Word of God became flesh and took on the form of a man, Jesus Christ.

5. The Word of God Acts 4:31 “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Speaking the Word of God is here referred to as coming forth from the mouths of the Holy Spirit filled believers. Just as Jesus is referred to as the Word of God becoming flesh – in that Jesus is a manifestation of the Word of the Father and therefore is the Father – now we see the Word of God (Jesus Christ) being a manifestation of the spoken Word of Holy Spirit filled believers.

6. The Word of God The Bible is the Word of God, because the words which our Lord, His prophets, patriarchs and disciples spoke were recorded in the Old and New Testament. Therefore Paul could say, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:16-17) We have a confidence in the Word of God the Bible that it is a living and active power and able to turn us, transform us and give us eternal life. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

7. The Word of God Therefore when we read the Bible we are hearing from God. His Word is living and active and can redesign you into His image spiritually. Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 ESV) We must abide in Christ, meaning: we must hold firm to the profession of our faith, and our commitment to living for Him. And His Word must abide in us, meaning: His spoken Word in the Scriptures must be in us and flow from within us and in that we obey His Word and do as what it says. James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

8. Importance of Memorizing Scripture If the blessings to answered prayer comes from having His Word abide in us, then the obvious question should be, “How do we get His Word to abide in us?” We have to store it up in our memories. Billy Graham said, “Like Joseph storing up grain during the years of famine that lay ahead, may we store up the truths of God’s Word in our hearts as much as possible, so that we are prepared for whatever suffering we are called upon to endure.”

9. Recalling the Bible The biography of Geoffrey Bull, a British missionary to Tibet who was captured and imprisoned by Chinese Communists, tells how his captors took his possessions from him, threw him in a series of prisons, robbed him of his Bible, and made him suffer terribly at their hands for three years. In addition to extreme temperatures and miserable physical conditions, bodily abuse and near starvation, Bull was subjected to such mental and psychological torture that he feared he would go insane. How did he keep his mind at peace? He had no Bible now, but he had studied the Bible all his life.

10. Recalling the Bible He began to systematically go over the Scriptures in his mind. He found it took him about six months to go all the way through the Bible mentally. He started at Genesis and recalled each incident and story as best he could, first concentrating on the content and then musing on certain points, seeking light in prayer. He continued through the Old Testament, reconstructing the books and chapters as best he could, then into the New Testament, Matthew to Revelation. Then he started over again. He later wrote, “The strength received through this meditation was, I believe, a vital factor in bringing me through, kept by the faith to the very end.”

11. Treasure Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So what is this treasure? Colossians 2:2-3 “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Hidden in Christ, the Word of God, is treasure immeasurable and we are encouraged to store up this treasure in our hearts.

12. 20,000 Verses In the book Scripture Memorizing for Succesful Soul-Winning by Dr. Oscar Lowry. Lowry admits that he entered Christian service as a young man with an undisciplined mind. Thinking he could not memorize Scripture, he filled the flyleaf of his Bible with references useful for counseling and evangelism, but it proved awkward to stop his conversations long enough to track down the right verse. Finally he determined to succeed at Scripture memory. “If I can memorize one verse, I can memorize one more,” he said, “and ten more, and even one hundred.”

13. 20,000 Verses He rose early the next morning and chose what seemed to him a difficult passage, Romans 10:9-10. He paced the room, saying to himself, “I will do this thing.” He struggled with this passage for half an hour, but finally succeeding in memorizing it completely. The next morning he reviewed and reinforced those verses in his memory, then added a new one. He kept reviewing his chosen passages and adding new ones until it dawned on him one day that he could repeat one hundred verses without looking in his Bible. By the end of his life, he had learned over 20,000 verses, and he could locate each by chapter and verse without his Bible. No wonder his Christian life was full of joy, his mind full of wisdom, and his evangelistic efforts full of success.

14. GreatQuotes If you carry a Bible when you are young, it will carry you when you are old. Unknown If we understood what happens when we use the Word of God, we would use it oftener. Oswald Chambers I have found that my spiritual growth is directly proportionate to the amount of time and effort I put into the study of Scripture. John MacArthur Other books were given for our information, the Bible was given for our transformation. Unknown The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. Unknown

15. Collecting Cookbooks The Wall street Journal reported that nearly one thousand different cookbooks are published each year in America, many of them glossy, full colour and very expensive. But at the same time, fewer and fewer people are cooking, and increasing numbers are eating in restaurants. The reporter for the journal interviewed one lady, a portfolio manager in New York; she has acquired 16 cookbooks in the last four years and subscribes to two cooking magazines. But the last time she prepared a sit-down meal was four years ago, “and” she said, “it didn’t turn out.” There are more Bible translations, study aids, and devotional books now than ever. Christian Publishing is a big business in America. But for all that, people are reading and studying their Bible less and less.

16. The Challenge The Challenge to this is really clear, can we take responsibility for our own spiritual welfare? Can we accept the leadings and promptings of the Holy Spirit to read, study and memorize Scripture? Can we take the God who created us seriously enough to move ourselves into a devotional life that we always hoped we could achieve? Your Bible patiently waits for you to spend time in it, and the Holy Spirit longs to guide you through it, will you obey the call?